The Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation, by Arinna Weisman and Jean Smith

(237 pp., Wisdom Publications, 2010)

You can change. You can face and work with your suffering. It is possible to become mindful of your habitual patterns, to dissolve them, and to cultivate a more engaged, in-the-moment experience of your life.

Arinna Weisman and Jean Smith tackle these Buddhist basics in graceful, accessible prose. Their beginners guide is rich in information, grounded in personal stories, offers simple techniques for practice, and presents in-depth explorations of Buddhist concepts like karma, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. I know Arinna Weisman as a sensitive, seasoned teacher. Her wisdom shines through in this book, inviting readers to consider new perspectives as they try suggested practices. The book also bows to the authors’ teachers, such as Ruth Denison and Thich Nhat Hanh, and offers guidance in finding appropriate Buddhist practice centers and information on what it’s like to attend a meditation retreat. I would give this guide to any newcomer to Buddhism, offering them a clear, compassionate introduction to the path, true to the spirit of vipassana.

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From the Fall 2011 issue of Inquiring Mind (Vol. 28, No. 1)

© 2011 Sandy Boucher

Vipassana

Sandy Boucher is a writer, teacher and editor active in the Bay Area for more than thirty years; she leads retreats on Meditation and the Spirit of Creativity. Her latest book is She Appears! Encounters with Kwan Yin, Goddess of Compassion (Goddess Ink, 2015), containing thirty-five works of contemporary original art and as many essays on the experience of compassion in our lives. Boucher was an Inquiring Mind guest editor for three issues: "Blowin' in the Wind" (Spring 2015), "Bodhisattva" (Fall 2011) and "Enlightenment" (Fall 2010).